Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Monday, December 17, 2012

An old fashioned yeast roll, baked in a round cake pan, for pull apart rolls.

Old Fashioned Pull Apart Pan Rolls

A lot of folks get scared off by the homemade yeast rolls, not so much for the mixing or even the rise time, as much as the process of having to shape them. This roll takes a little bit of that away since the rolls are just formed into balls and tucked into a cake pan, or if you prefer an oblong baking dish, slightly smaller than a 9 x 13 inch pan. You don't even have to be all that precise with that to be honest, but I've include a tip in the Cook's Notes of the recipe that might be helpful to get a more rounded top on your rolls.

As I have often recommended in many of my bread recipes, proof the yeast for your dough as your first step when making breads and rolls. If the yeast does not puff up, it's dead and useless and it would be a waste of your time, energy and ingredients to go forward with it. Discard it and start over with fresh yeast. Since I don't make bread all the time, I buy my yeast by the jar and keep it in my freezer, but I still proof the yeast.

This is a great little, old fashioned pull apart pan roll that would be perfect for your Christmas dinner. While, like any roll, these are best freshly made, they may be made and baked ahead of time, cooled and wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in the freezer. Just let them come to room temperature for several hours before reheating them, tightly wrapped in the foil, at the same time and temperature as you originally baked them.

Here's how to make them.

Heat the milk; set aside. Add yeast to a small bowl. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and 1/4 cup of the heated milk to the yeast. Let proof for 5 minutes or until yeast is puffy.

In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, the softened butter and the remaining milk to the flour mixture. If you are using unsalted butter, you will need to add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mixture.

Stir together until dough is shaggy looking, then turn out onto a floured surface, sprinkling a little of the remaining flour on top.

Knead by hand, until dough is smooth, adding some of the remaining flour, a little at a time, only as needed. Wipe out and oil the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Generously butter two 8 inch cake pans; set aside. You can also do these in an oblong pan, though I recommend using one that is slightly smaller than a 9 x 13 inch baking pan so they will rise enough, somewhere around a 7 x 11 inch. Deflate dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface.

Pull off 16 equal sized pieces of dough (or 15 for the oblong pan), and form into rolls. I do this by dividing the dough into 4 pieces about the same size and then dividing each of those sections in four balls.

Place 8 rolls into each of the buttered 8-inch cake pans, or 15 for the oblong pan, placing them in rows of 5 by 3.

Cover loosely with a clean towel and allow to rise again in a warm, draft free place, until rolls have puffed and doubled and filled the pans, at least another hour, maybe more. Whatever you do, don't rush it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until light golden brown. Brush tops with the melted butter and serve immediately with a batch of honey butter.

Bee-U-tee-full.

See those beautiful air pockets? That's why you need two good rises for a great yeast roll that doesn't have the texture of a biscuit.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of salted butter, softened at room temperature, plus additional butter for the pans, and melted butter for brushing the rolls, if desired

1 teapoon of vegetable oil (for the bowl)

Instructions

Heat the milk; set aside. Add yeast to a small bowl. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and 1/4 cup of the heated milk to the yeast. Let proof for 5 minutes or until yeast is puffy.

In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, the remaining sugar, and the salt. Add the yeast mixture, the 1/4 cup of softened butter and the remaining milk to the flour mixture. Stir together until dough is shaggy looking, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead by hand, until dough is smooth, sprinkling with a small amount of the remaining flour only as needed. Wipe out and oil the bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Generously butter two 8 inch cake pans; set aside. Deflate dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Pull off 16 equal sized pieces of dough and form into rolls, placing 8 rolls into each of the buttered cake pans. Cover loosely with a towel and allow to rise again in a warm, draft free place, until rolls have puffed and filled the pan, at least another hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until light golden brown. Brush tops with the melted butter and serve immediately with some honey butter.

Tips: If you use unsalted butter, increase salt to 1-1/2 teaspoons. When proofing the yeast, if it does not puff up it is dead. Discard and start over. When measuring your flour, use a smaller scoop to fill your measuring cup, then level. If you scoop your measuring cup right into a bag or canister, it compacts the flour and you will use too much, making for a dense roll.

To shape, halve the dough, then halve again so that you have 4 equal pieces. Cut each section into 4 pieces for a total of 16. Roll the dough between both palms to form into a fairly tight ball. Take one dough ball and place it into your palm. Cup the ball with your thumb and forefinger together and use the fingers on your other hand to push the dough up from underneath to stretch and form a smooth top, while pinching the dough underneath together. Once the top is stretched smooth, tuck the edges of the roll underneath, and place into the buttered pan. You should end up with a more smooth, rounded top on your rolls. Rise times are estimates - it really just depends on how warm and draft free your kitchen is.

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My grandmother used to make rolls like this for us. She would sprinkle a little sugar on the tops of the rolls. I can still remember how good they tasted with butter on them. I will have to make a batch of these for my granddaughter, who is also a bread lover.

Have you tried making through shaping but before the second rise & refrigerating them? Thinking about making these tomorrow but since I have an early morning doctors appt (on Christmas Eve!!) I will be short on time to do the full recipe. Thinking I may be able to follow directions till shape, then refrigerate, pull them out before my appt so that they can come to room temp & rise before baking. Do you think that would work?

Yes, you've got it Brandy! Shape and refrigerate covered but I wouldn't do it more than a day ahead of time. Then just let them come to room temperature & do the second rise before baking. Merry Christmas!!

Yes! The main difference is the size of the granules so when using active dry versus a fast acting yeast like RapidRise you just have to make sure to rehydrate it by dissolving it in a liquid first. Since we already do that by proofing the yeast here, you're good!

I'm from the south so I'm afraid I can't make any comparison to rolls from Amoroso's bakery. I do know what you mean though because I've made dozen of roll recipes trying to recreate the delicious homemade rolls that I remember from elementary school and I'm still on that quest!

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